Blue Box in the Night
by Emrys Holmes
Summary: Six year old Alex gets scared easily by creepy shadows and other figments of her imagination during the night. One night, a man in a blue box teaches her to overcome her fears. (All fluff! First Doctor Who fanfic, please read! One-shot, but is a prequel to 'Blue Box in the Living Room, a second one-shot.)


Six-year-old Alexandra, who went by Alex, sat on the couch, clurled up in her blanket. Her sister, Sarah, older than her by eight years, sat cross-legged on the edge of the rocking chair to the right of the couch, eyes glued to the television screen. Currently, the screen was playing an episode of Sarah's favorite show- Doctor Who.

Alex was only watching it with Sarah because she had nothing else to do. Sarah was too engrossed in her show to play with Alex, and Sarah didn't want to play with her little sister anyways. Alex thought that the show was scary, but didn't want to inturrupt, otherwise Sarah would get mad.

As the episode ended, Alex trembled in her seat. Her eyes darted about, looking for some horrific creature that could pop out of the shadows at any moment. To the right in her rocking chair, Sarah looked at her watch. "Oh. Bedtime, Alex," Sarah said, glancing to her little sister.

"No!" Alex said, burrowing deep down in the fuzzy blanket and burying her face it. "The scary statues will get me. Or the shadow creatures."

"Oh, you're scared of the Weeping Angels and Vashta Nerada..." Sarah rolled her eyes and smiled. "Alex, those aren't real. They're just fictional. Make-believe." Sarah gently pulled the blanket off of Alex's head.

"Okay," Alex said. "Are you coming up with me?" Sarah and Alex shared a room, and Alex didn't like going to bed unles Sarah was there.

"Ah... I've still got homework to do," Sarah says. "You go upstairs. Get your pajamas on. And don't forget to brush your teeth."

Alex scampered up the stairs. Once she had finished the things her sister told her to do, she snuggled into her bed and tried to go to sleep.

Sleep never came. Alex quivered, eyes glancing around the dark room. She squeaked from time to time, constantly turning on the lights to make sure that no creatures were in her room.

Alex jumped when she saw a scary shadow on the wall. "A statue creature! Don't eat me! Or whatever you do!" she said.

Alex laid quivering under her covers when she heard a rough whooshing sound. It reminded her of the funny man's blue box from the TV show.

A creaking noise followed the whooshing. "Oh, now that's not where I planned on landing," said a voice.

Alex peeked out from under her covers. She could still see the scary shadow, but now, a blue box was in the middle of her room, and a man was right outside of. it. But the man was too close to the shadow.

"Mister, there's a statue creature... it's scaring me..." Alex said.

The man turned his head to look at Alex, her face barely poking out from under the covers. Then he looked the other direction, at the shadow on the wall.

"You mean that?" the man says, pointing to the shadow. He chuckles and flips the switch on the wall, turning on the lighs. "It's just a shadow. Nothing else."

"It really looked like one of those scary statue creatures with teeth," Alex said, sitting up.

"Well, I must be off," said the strange man. "Got things to do, places to see-"

"Mister, don't go," Alex said. "What if the scary statue creatures come back?"

The man looked at Alex, then walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed. "What was your name?"

"Alex," she said, "short for Alexandra."

"Well, Alex-short-for-Alexandra, I promise that no more statue creatures or scary shadows will bother you tonight."

"And if they do bother me?"

"I'll come back and make them go away. So you don't have to worry anymore."

"Okay."

The man smiled and stood up, walking over to his blue box. He stopped, then turned around and turned out the lights.

"Goodbye, Blue Box Man," Alex said, waving.

The man gave a small wave back and stepped inside the box, closing the door. With the same whooshing sound as when it came, the blue box disappeared.

Alex snuggled back into her bed. When she stared at the wall, the shadow no longer scared her. She closed her eyes and finally found sleep...

* * *

The next night, Alex was sitting at the table with her sister Sarah, who was busily scribbling away on a sheet of homework. Sarah looked at her watch.

"Oh! Alex, it's time for bed," she said. "I'll come up with you this time. I'm sorry about last night, I should've come up with you. You must've been scared stiff."

"I was, but not anymore," Alex said. "That blue box man came in the middle of the night and told me not to be scared, because he would come back and tell any scary creatures that bothered me to go away."

Sarah laughed softly. "Alex, the blue box man isn't real. He's just in that television show I like watching. Now go get ready for bed."

"But he came last night and-"

"Alex, he's not real. Just go to bed."

Alex frowned, disappointed, and trudged upstairs.

When she finally got ready for be, she sat on her bed, cross-legged, with the lights out. She looked out the window at the starry sky.

For a moment, a blue box streaked across it, and Alex smiled.

"Bye, Blue Box Man," Alex said.

She didn't have trouble sleeping ever again.


End file.
